The Price of Fame
by MrBamforth
Summary: Ginny Weasley is about to start her 7th year at Hogwarts. The Dark Lord has fallen, but the fame is getting a bit much, and they don't even know that she is in a relationship with Harry Potter yet! Please R&R!
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Ron! Hey, Ron! There's an owl!" said Harry, violently throwing an orange Chudley Cannons pillow at Ron's head. Ron, however, didn't move at all. Groaning, Harry got up and shuffled over to the window He yawned loudly at where a tiny brown screech owl was rapping his talon on the pane, a fresh copy of the Daily Prophet clasped in his beak. Harry reached over and gingerly opened one of the Burrow's very creaky windows. With a squawk, the little owl fluttered inside and dropped the newspaper on the desk in front of him. The headline read "_The Truth About Harry Potter – An exclusive interview with Draco Malfoy"._ Interested, Harry pulled a green velvet bag out of the nearby cupboard drawer and placed five tiny bronze Knuts in the little leather pouch on the owl's leg. With a little cheep, the bird spread its wings and soared off into the sky. Harry sat back on his bed and unfolded the paper, ready to read, but was disturbed by two loud bangs on the bedroom door.

"Harry, Ron, Mum said you need to be up in five minutes to take Ginny to Diagon Alley," said a rather annoyed – sounding Percy through the crack in the door.

"I'm not going," moaned Ron through his pillow, stretching his body as much as he could until his toes touched the bedpost. "I'm too comfy."

"Fine. We shall see what Mother says about that Ronald," said Percy, in his pompous Head Boy voice. "Coming, Harry?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a second."

Harry trudged down the stairs in his brand new, fluffy red and gold slippers sent by Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister for Magic, at least until a proper election could be held. Harry entered the Weasley's kitchen to the sight of Ginny and a beaming Mrs bounded towards Harry enthusiastically, who was immediately enraptured in how graceful Ginny looked in a sparkling periwinkle blue nightdress. Ginny reached out to kiss him but was stopped short by an interrupting cough from Molly, who had, in the past few weeks, become fed up of the new amount of public displays of affection around the Weasley household.

"Right, unusual though this is, we have no time for breakfast," exclaimed Mrs Weasley. "I want to be at Flourish & Blotts for 9, they've got a sale on, and therefore we need to be on the Floo network at quarter to. You know why we need to be there early, plus the network's been going doolally since the end of the war; no one new has been trained to maintain the system yet. Arabella ended up in Glasgow last Thursday, and thankfully Hagrid had just returned from the mountains nearby where Grawp is now living, because that woman can't work a spell to save her life." She said all of this very fast, as if to show how urgent she felt.

"But that doesn't even give me half an hour!" moaned Ginny.

"Well, you'd better hurry up, hadn't you?" retorted Mrs Weasley. "And where is Ronald?"

"He said he was too comfy to come," said Percy in a rather tell tale voice, knowing what his mother's reaction would be. Harry, however, had forgotten that Percy was in the room at all and jumped a little.

Without even uttering another word, Mrs Weasley snatched her wand off the table and marched up the three flights of stairs to where Harry and Ron were staying for the time being. Without even knocking, she slammed open the door and slapped Ron around the head snapping "Up!". Ron moaned. But without warning anyone that she was coming into the room, Hermione burst in, simply whipped out her wand and said _"Levicorpus"._

There was a flash of brilliant white light, Ron was lifted into the air by his left ankle, and he was certainly awake now. Without another word, his mother left the room, and Ron got dressed quickly, but not silently, as if he was trying to make as much noise as he could.

Twenty minutes later, they were all (including Ron) standing in an extremely busy Flourish & Blotts. It seemed that everybody else had had Mrs Weasley's idea. The dozens of wizards in the shop were far too busy looking at the books that were on special offer to notice Harry, as they would usually have rushed towards him. Ginny soon realised this and whisked Harry off to an obscure corner of the store, the section on Muggle Studies, which was only really frequented by Mr Weasley. As he was at work at the Ministry in his new position, Ginny knew that she would be safe with dragging Harry off away from the crowds.

Rather ruffled, Harry began to ask why Ginny had dragged him away but before he could complete a single word, Ginny moved suddenly towards him, her lips slightly parted.

_Why do we have to do this in secret? _Harry thought, as he ran his fingers through Ginny's sleek and shiny locks of hair, admiring the way that it felt to his touch. He stroked his fingers along her cheek, admiring the softness and flawlessness of her ivory skin. Ginny moved her head towards him and their lips pushed together in blissful oblivion, both knowing how they could be caught any second and yet more excited for it. He thought of how he hated the world had been since he defeated Voldemort, how for him and the Weasley family that escape from the press had become almost impossible. When they separated, they both had to stop to breathe for a moment, as they both were very flustered, and Ginny skin had flushed almost to the red of her hair.

"Come on," whispered Ginny, dragging Harry back into the crowd. Half an hour later, they were out into the cobbled street of Diagon Alley, blinking in the summer sun. Ginny was now carrying two rather full carrier bags of the books that she needed for her final year at Hogwarts. Though no one knew what this year was going to be like, all of the teaching posts left empty at the end of the second wizarding war had been filled, even the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. They didn't have much left to get, only some potion ingredients from the Apothecary nearby.

It had already begun, people trying to get Harry's attention, people at stalls trying to give him gifts, even offering Galleons to him. There was a very real reason why Ginny and Harry weren't allowed to be together in public, by the Weasley parents ruling, of course. Ginny had yet to begin her final year at Hogwarts, and while many knew that she was acquainted with Harry, and had been with him in his sixth year, the general consensus believed that they were just friends.

Ginny was already struggling with the fame, especially with people writing to her for information about Harry. She had received letters from the Daily Prophet begging her for a story for the past month. Ever since the fall of "He Who Must Not Be Named", the entire Weasley family had struggled, and the last thing that they wanted was the presence of the very enthusiastic Witch Weekly photographer that was standing in front of them. Especially as Harry was still holding Ginny's hand, and he had the tiniest smudge of pink lipstick on the corner of his mouth.


	2. Aftermath

Chapter 1

The platform was already bustling by the time the Weasley clan had passed onto platform nine and three quarters. Even though they were only dropping Ginny off for the Hogwarts Express at eleven o'clock, there were nine people there to drop her off that September morning. They felt it was necessary after what had happened recently. Molly was becoming increasingly displeased that Harry had decided to come along with them, too, but even she had to admit that it was sensible to have him there to direct the attention away from Ginny now that the entire wizarding world knew that they were a couple.

Ginny was scared and flustered. Even her hair was annoying her, and she quickly tied it back with a bobble that she had on her wrist. She was even considering dyeing her hair, as the redness of it made her such an easy target, but she knew that her mother would never forgive her, and would probably come to some silly conclusion that she didn't want to look like a Weasley anymore. With one hand on the trolley that her father was pushing, and one on her wand, she edged with her family towards the train.

Chaos. The moment the public caught sight of the Weasley family's flaming red hair, they all rushed towards them. The situation was only exacerbated further the moment they caught sight of "The Boy Who Lived". The entire Weasley family and Harry looked around nervously, as no fewer than fourteen journalists stepped forward, each complete with a photographer. Then the shouting began, as each of the journalists tried to get the Weasleys' attention, all of whom were trying to keep their heads down. Harry even tried to move away from them, so that Ginny and the rest of the family could get her on the Hogwarts Express safely, but Ginny grabbed his arm. Her eyes told Harry that she needed him to be there; she needed him to protect her.

Panicking, George started to shove journalists out of the way, trying to create a path for the trolley, but this only agitated them. They began to push more and more into the family, trying to separate Harry and Ginny from the others so that they could bully some answers out of them. They got what they wanted. Ginny clasped her arms around Harry's neck, as they were surrounded by a ring of reporters, all jostling them, all shouting.

"Harry, what do you think about the sighting of Death Eaters so close to Hogwarts, and what are you going to do about it?" shouted a rather short, bumbling wizard from the _Daily Prophet_.

"Ginny, how is your relationship with Harry going to last? You haven't been together long, but you will be so far away from each other!" shrieked a tall, blonde witch with a fluorescent pink badge that alternately shone with the words "Madeleine Vance" and "Witch Weekly".

"Harry, what do you think about what the Crumple-Horned Snorkack is doing to our environment?" shouted another reporter, obviously from the _Quibbler_, as he was wearing a rather large set of wrackspurt siphons which were now compulsory uniform on the order of Xenophilius Lovegood.

Ginny was getting really quite scared now; the wizard reporters were far larger in size than she was, and Harry wouldn't be able to defend her against all of them. Naturally, her mind presumed the worst, and she began to hyperventilate, her face getting redder. Colours were spinning around her, camera lights were flashing, and she became dizzier and dizzier, everything seemed to go a sickly green colour. She began to sink to the floor; everything seemed to be going slower.

Fortunately, relief came in the form of what seemed to her like a massive mucky brown overcoat, but she soon realised by the big, booming West Country accent that it was, indeed, Hagrid.

"O'rite, you lot, get outta the way! Blimey, Ginny, are you alright?" asked Hagrid, paying far more attention to her than the aggravated reporters, still shouting and cajoling.

Ginny didn't move.

"That'll be a 'no' then, will it? Alright then, up yer come!" said Hagrid, picking Ginny up with one dustbin-lid sized hand, and her trolley with the other. Without straining himself at all (though he did knock his head on the doorframe of the carriage), Hagrid pulled Ginny into a compartment with her things and laid her down across 3 of the seats. After checking that Ginny was alright, Hagrid got off the train to talk to the Weasleys.

Harry quickly and silently got on the train before it began to move away. While the rest of the Weasley family knew of his plan, Harry thought for a moment that it had been surprisingly easy to implement it now that Ginny had fallen unconscious, then felt extremely guilty at these thoughts. He stepped into Ginny's empty compartment and slid the glass door shut silently, creeping over next to her. She had gone to sleep, drained by the ordeal, especially after she had nearly fainted on the platform. Harry knelt onto the compartment floor next to the row that Ginny was laid on. _She always looks so peaceful when she sleeps,_ Harry thought. He began to stroke her face gently, but she began to stir, so he sat opposite her in the compartment.

Harry pulled out the edition of the _Daily Prophet_ that he had read and reread since it had arrived the day of that fateful Diagon Alley trip. It was really only one article in particular, and the paper had been read so many times that the numbers of the pages were starting to smudge in the corners.

_The Truth about Harry Potter – By Draco Malfoy_

_It is with some grudging gratitude that I give this statement about Harry Potter, and in light of recent events I feel that I must.. Throughout my entire time at Hogwarts, I must admit that I loathed him. We had a number of rather violent run-ins, and, to be honest, we were both to blame for what we did. I have to admit now, though, that I have the utmost respect for him. Even though all the hatred which had been fuelled between us, he still saved my life after my friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle tried to kill him and his friends. I was unable to fulfil the Dark Lord's commands when I was drafted into the Death Eaters by my father, and now, with Harry's help, I understand that this way was not the right way, and while I am sure that we will never be friends, I honour you. Thank you._

Again, Harry was aghast at the article, and read the last line again, shocked by the way that Draco had seemed to come completely out of character.

Ginny stirred again. He could see her eyes slowly opening and knelt beside her once more, stroking her face again lightly. Smiling, he looked into her eyes and watched as she realised that he was there. Her mind filled with questions as to why he was there, and was about to open her mouth to say so, but was stopped by Harry's lips. Ginny reciprocated this kiss, bringing it deeper and gently slid her hand around the back of his head. They slowly pulled away, savouring each and every last touch, and Ginny had to take a long deep breath; her stomach was still fluttering.

"But why? How?" asked Ginny.

"Well, it turns out that while the Auror Department don't mind so much as whether I got my NEWTS last year because of my experience practically, they feel that they would like to sponsor me for the new Defence Against The Dark Arts position while I train, as they said I need a rest and would be much better accustomed to Auror life once I'd calmed down a bit and gotten over the deaths of—". Harry choked on his last words. He had been trying not to think about all those whom he had loved that had died. Fred, Remus, Tonks, Dobby, Hedwig. There were so many gone, and Harry almost broke down right there on the floor of the compartment, but managed to hold himself together on seeing a warm, but sad look from Ginny, who knew exactly the pain that he was going through.

Harry ran his fingers through Ginny's flaming red hair and looked into her eyes. Just at that moment, the compartment door suddenly slid open, and Hermione stepped inside.

"No need to ask, I'm here to take my seventh year and NEWTS," said Hermione, like she'd been waiting for them to ask. Not even Harry knew of this, and he wasn't even sure that Ron did either, but he was corrected instantly. "I've been speaking to Ron about this for a while now, and though I couldn't convince him to come, he agreed that I should, as long as he got to visit me most weekends, which Professor McGonagall rather begrudgingly agreed to."

There wasn't really that much that Ginny or Harry could say. In fact, they both said "okay" in unison, and Hermione parked herself in the seat opposite Ginny. Ron had already announced that he would be working in Fred's stead in the joke shop in Diagon Alley to help George out.

Three hours later, the trio clambered off the Hogwarts Express and out onto the platform in Hogsmeade Village. The air was icy cold, as it was getting late. Ginny rubbed her hands together as she wandered up towards the tracks where the Thestral–pulled carriages would take them up to the school.

"'Arry! 'Ermione! Ginny! Fancy a trip in the boats? We've got less first years than last year!" shouted Hagrid, from the back end of the platform, near the path to the docks that opened onto the great lake. Ginny didn't even have to ask Harry or Hermione, who both shouted words of thanks as they ran to join the first years and Hagrid. The first years were significantly fewer than last year, which confused Ginny. _If the war is over, then why are there so few new students?_ she thought, pushing her hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"No more than four first years, or three seventh years to a boat!" Hagrid shouted over the gathering of students that were approaching the very old, crumbling dock where the boats were tied up. Ginny clambered into a boat behind Hermione, with Harry climbing in behind her. "Alright, everyone in?" boomed Hagrid, and after a few seconds of silence, the boats began to move. Ginny smiled at the remembrance of her first year at Hogwarts, when she had come this way, met Hagrid, and got her first look at the castle. She looked on in anticipation as they turned down a narrow passageway. Harry snuggled up behind her and put his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

The boats turned a corner, and the usual gasps of shock and awe at the sight of Hogwarts Castle were turned into pure shock. Ginny had not been back at Hogwarts since the battle. The Astronomy Tower had been completely blasted away, and the entirety of the wall of the passage leading to the Entrance Hall had gone; that was the place where Fred had been crushed by Rookwood, the Death Eater. Ginny began to tear up. Her family hadn't been the same, since. George was still barely speaking, and still violently threw up as he put himself under such stress and depression when he thought about it. Ginny's whole body twitched as the convulsions of grief shuddered through her, her face streaming with tears. Harry squeezed her tighter, and the boats carried on their paths towards the castle.


	3. Omens

Ginny, Harry and Hermione clambered off the boats on to the underground dock. They had only passed through there once before, in their first year. Ginny thought about the time in her first year where things had been better; she was looking forward to finally being better than her brothers at something,and was finally going to school with Harry Potter. An eerie green light bounced off the water and walls to create a weird rippling effect that made the ceiling look like shimmering glass. The clatter of the students' footsteps echoed off the walls as they marched up several flights of stairs and corridors towards the Entrance Hall. This created an almost constant hum, sharply punctuated by the yet louder echoes of Hagrid's big thunderous boots as he hit the staircase behind them.

"All righ', then! Ginny and Hermione, you'd best off make your way into the Great Hall. Everyone else, includin' you, Harry, follow me," roared Hagrid, over the chattering crowd of first years. They did as they were asked, following Hagrid into a small, musty side room near the Great Hall. It was really just quite a large broom cupboard, but this was where new students waited in here before they were sorted. Ginny remembered her Sorting with nostalgia. She thought of how nervous she had been on her first day, how she'd prayed that she would be put in Gryffindor, and definitely not in Slytherin. Then she thought of how this wasn't because she had wanted to be with her brothers; what she had really wanted was to be in the same house as Harry. Ginny had been infatuated with Harry the moment that he had stepped into her house in the summer before her first year. She knew that her feelings had greatly increased since then, as had Harry's, thankfully. It had gotten to the point where it felt painful to be away from him. She longed for him to just wrap her up and protect her from the world.

Ginny and Hermione marched immediately into the Great Hall through the big stone door at the back, which was adorned by a large brass Hogwarts crest, surrounded by hundreds of ancient runes. A flag for each house was hung over their respective tables, and the usual thousands of candles hovered in the sky above them. Tonight, the ceiling showed the sky as completely clear, save for the twinkle of a few stars. As the pair marched towards their usual seats, the teachers filed into the room and sat at the huge wooden table that faced the students. Ginny saw Harry there, too, seated near the far end between Hagrid (who had to be seated there so that he could have legroom) and a very wizened looking old woman who looked like she had seen her fair share of battles. She was muscularly built, with a pale complexion and was covered with scars of many different shapes. She had very sparse grey hair that looked like an attempt had been made for it to be tied into a very tight bun. Ginny thought it looked like wisps of smoke. The teacher gave Ginny the impression that this woman was not to be messed around with. However, despite her wild appearance, she did not seem actively threatening. On the contrary, she sat minding her own business and looked up like the rest of the staff when the new batch of first years came in. As usual, the Sorting Hat had been placed on a stool floating before the students as they walked in. The stool and the hat hovered for a moment in the center of the gap between the staff table and the students, and then lowered slowly to the floor. There was a pause, and, as Ginny had seen many times before, the hat opened its brim and began to sing.

_And here were are another year__,_

_A prophecy completed,_

_Yet darkness has not lifted yet,_

_Its forces not depleted._

_The chosen one has done his job,_

_The Dark Lord is now slain._

_But work is to be done by all_

_Before the light can reign._

_And so I sort the magic young,_

_The cunning, true and able._

_Just put me down upon your head,_

_And I will choose your table._

_In Gryffindor the bravest few_

_Are placed atop their tower._

_Their courage, love and loyalty_

_Are these friends' true power._

_In Ravenclaw the smart are placed,_

_With books and friends as home._

_True friends for these not in fellows_

_But in a__ book or tome._

_In Hufflepuff the grafters go,_

_A very friendly bunch._

_But when there is work to be done,_

_They'll get down to the crunch__._

_In Slytherin the remaining are_

_With cunning minds not few._

_No matter what, the Slytherins_

_Find some way to push through._

_But now my song is finished,_

_To__ bed for another year._

_But the fight is not yet over._

_Remain do the ones we fear._

As usual, the hat gave a little bow and became still, awaiting his first student.

"I will call out your names in alphabetical order," squeaked a very tired looking Professor Flitwick, "and you will sit on the stool and place the hat on your head. The hat will read your innermost thoughts and characteristics, and you will be placed into the house that best reflects your personality. When you have been sorted, please sit at your house table."

Ginny wondered if Professor Flitwick must have become the new Deputy Head now the Professor McGonagall was Headmistress. She looked at Hermione, about to ask her if she knew anything about it, but was interrupted by a squeak of "Ames, Aaron" from Professor Flitwick.

A scrawny boy shuffled forwards in robes that were far too big for him and parked himself on the stool, pulling the hat over his head. _It is taking a long time for the hat to decide,_ thought Ginny. Eventually, however, the hat boomed "Ravenclaw!", and the boy ran over to his new table. The sorting continued; a pretty little girl was put in Hufflepuff, and a very thin, tall and hairy boy was the first Gryffindor. Ginny realised, however, by the time that Mr Flitwick had called out "Quincy, Jason" that there had only been one girl placed in Slytherin, and no boys. This was rectified moments later, however, as a tall, wide eyed boy stepped up to the stool. Professor Flitwick had said his name was "Rookwood, Marvius".

The Great Hall went silent. Augustus Rookwood, this boy's father, was the Death Eater that had killed many in the battle of Hogwarts. The Death Eater that had laughed as he brutally murdered Fred Weasley, crushing him under one of Hogwarts' own walls. Ginny went bright red with fury. _How dare he come to this school, knowing what his father did, knowing that I would be here this year?_ she thought. But with a sickly cross between dread and mirth, Ginny realised exactly why he was here by the fact that he was staring straight back into her eyes with a look of pure contempt. The dread was brought by the fact she knew he was the relation of a Death Eater, the mirth by the fact that he was obviously just a puny first year. She could Bat-Bogey hex him to oblivion at any time. Obviously, the Sorting Hat immediately placed him in Slytherin, with the thoughts that seemed to be going through his mind, and he sneered as he stood up and slouched his way to the Slytherin table, where a group of three second years were waiting for him.

He was the only other first year to be placed in Slytherin, and conversation sprung up in the form of whispers about him all over the Great Hall. The students didn't seem to care about the remaining five students that were yet to be sorted, but Professor McGonagall forced their attention nonetheless with a purple firecracker from the end of her wand. This was obviously a trick that she had learned from the late headmaster.

After the sorting had been completed and the school song had been sung, Ginny and Hermione settled down to yet another unsurprisingly sumptuous Hogwarts feast. As usual, the spread that had been put on by the Hogwarts house-elves was tremendous. There was pork, lamb, chicken, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, really every kind of potatoes and much more. In honour of the late Albus Dumbledore, there was still a bowl of mint humbugs every couple of feet up the table. Ginny piled her plate as she spoke to Hermione.

"What do you think 'remain do the ones we fear' means?" she enquired.

"I think it's obvious, isn't it?" replied Hermione. "There are still rather a lot of Death Eaters still around. Your Dad has been having some right trouble at the Ministry, remember? Why do you think that everyone went quiet when the Rookwood kid came in?"

"He hates me," Ginny said, looking up to catch Rookwood looking back at her. "He keeps staring at me like that."

Hermione looked over her shoulder, surveying the situation. "I can see that," she said. "He must have a kind of vengeance idea going on in his head. You know, Percy killed his father, your boyfriend vanquished the Dark Lord. In fact, I imagine he's not staring at Harry like that because it would be a death wish to behave like that towards anyone at the teacher's table. I mean –"

Hermione stopped mid sentence to overhear a first year Ravenclaw girl directly behind her. She was crying, and words were coming out mid-sob.

"... and he called me a Mudblood, and just walked off!"

On hearing this, Hermione immediately turned around.

"Are you ok?" asked Hermione, tapping the girl on the shoulder. The girl turned around slowly and painfully to show floods of tears streaming down her face. Hermione gasped.

"In the room where we waited to be s' s' sorted," the girl said, between breaths "I was talking to Anna here ab' ab' about not wanting to be in Slytherin, and that Rookwood boy said that I knew nothing about it, Mudblood, and then punched me in the face and ribs, I think he broke one of them."

Hermione scowled, told the girl she would be back soon and rushed up to the head table.

"Professor McGonagall," Hermione reported, "a Ravenclaw first year has just told me through sobs of tears and a broken nose that Marvius Rookwood called her a Mudblood and punched her several times in the antechamber before the sorting."

The entire table of teachers looked shocked. She saw Harry make for his wand instinctively, a force of habit made last year by any sign of trouble. McGonagall pursed her lips automatically.

"Mend her nose, Miss Granger, and then please send her up here to see me," Professor McGonagall replied. Hermione scuttled back down to the girl and sat next to her.

"Can you tell me your name, please?" asked Hermione, who was getting quite flushed from all the running up and down.

"Alethia Brown," the girl replied.

"Okay, Alethia, I'm going to mend your nose for you, and then you need to go and see Professor McGonagall at the staff table. This won't hurt, I promise," stated Hermione. Before Alethia could reply, Hermione had pointed her wand to Alethia's rib, muttered "_Episkey!" _and, with a little click, it settled back into place.

Alethia gave her nose a feel, and, with a quick "Thanks!", ran up to the staff table. Ginny watched the staff take in the events, and before long, Professor McGonagall was on her feet. Everyone had finished their meals. It was time for the head's speech.

"Well, here were all are again at the start of a new year at Hogwarts. I hope that you are full and ready to go to bed, but I have a few things I wish to announce before you go to your dormitories." Professor McGonagall walked around the front of the staff table to face the students.

"Firstly, and obviously, no student is permitted to enter the Forbidden Forest. There is a reason why it is called this, but we still have at least five students who get maimed and are sent to the Hospital Wing every year. While all of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products are no longer banned, any Skiving Snackbox users found out will report to me. We now have a potion which can determine whether the illness is fake. You have been warned. On a lighter note, we have three new members of staff to add to our roster this year. Firstly, the Muggle Studies post will be taken by Mrs Julina Arrowsmith, who sadly cannot be here tonight, as she had a prior engagement at home. Secondly, Mr Harry Potter will be taking up the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher this year. While I am sure many of you will find this idea exciting, none of you are permitted to ask him any questions about last year. Anyone doing so will receive detention. My post as Transfiguration teacher will be taken over by Miss Erida Burnett, the lady on the end on the left. Astrology is to be taken on the lawn leading down towards the Forbidden Forest. Any infrastructure seen that is behaving oddly should be reported to a prefect, and if they find a problem, a teacher will be found to rectify it. Finally, we will have no violence or blood hatred of any kind in this school. This is why I ask Marvius Rookwood to stay behind afterwards." McGonagall sighed as there was a loud, teasing "ooooh" from the Slytherin table.

"Okay everyone, it's time for bed. Breakfast will be held at eight."


	4. Flipendo

Chapter 3 - Flipendo

Ginny woke up the next morning with a start. Opening her eyes to a completely empty dormitory room, she gave a silent sarcastic _"thanks"_ to Hermione for not waking her up. Ginny clambered out of bed and began to search in her trunk for some robes, swearing under her breath when she realised that she had no more clean socks.

Five minutes later Ginny was bolting down the Great Staircase towards the Great Hall. She was already late for breakfast when she arrived; Hermione was already tucking into a large stack of pancakes covered in _Lyle's Golden Syrup, _a muggle sugary sauce she had found in the summer that Ginny thought Hermione was now putting on everything she ate. Ginny gave Hermione an angry look while she sat down next to her, deliberately with her back towards Marvius Rookwood, who had been glaring at her from the moment that she had entered the room. Unfortunately, just as Ginny had finished piling her plate with sausages, eggs and bacon, Headmistress McGonagall stood up and surveyed them all. Everybody went silent, waiting for her to speak. Ginny groaned; she had obviously missed breakfast.

"I have a few more announcements that had not been decided yesterday," said Professor McGonagall eyeing the student one by one. "Firstly, Professor Harry Potter has agreed to take up the post of Head of Gryffindor house, and is staying in an extra room that was created just off the Gryffindor common room, as my previous room was destroyed in the battle. I daresay that you may not be able to get away with so much as Mr Potter will be so close by. Secondly, a memorial room has been added to the previous trophy room in order for all students to remember all of those that gave their lives in the war. Severus Snape has been added to that list."

Student's all around the Great Hall whispered furiously, but sensing an uproar building, McGonagall quickly continued "While I'm sure you are all aware of the fact that Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore, I implore you to understand this: Albus Dumbledore asked Professor Snape to kill him, in order to protect his cover as a spy. It is because of this that Professor Snape was able to help Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley to find weapons powerful enough to defeat Voldemort." A few students flinched "Therefore, I want no tarnishing of his name in the Memorial Chamber; anyone caught doing so risks expulsion from this school. I hope that I make myself clear. This year's timetables will now be handed out by the heads of houses."

The students had been completely shushed by Professor McGonagall's speech on Snape, and sat in absolute silence while the timetables were passed out. Harry moved his way down the Gryffindor table, trying to remember the names of the students in his house. Eventually, he got to Hermione and Ginny.

"Here you go, guys." He said as he passed them their timetables. Ginny wanted a kiss and stood up to give him an affectionate look, but he had already moved on. Ginny was miffed. With a quick glance at her timetable she stood up and marched out of the Great Hall, her shoes clacking against the heavy stone floor.

She said nothing to Hermione as they both walked towards the Dungeons for potions with Professor Slughorn, even though Hermione was already going on, wondering if Professor Slughorn would finally teach them how to brew Felix Felicis this year. Ginny didn't care. All she could think about was how Harry had all but completely ignored her. Hadn't she gone through enough with him when the press had publicised that they were together? In fact, Ginny said nothing for the entire double potions lesson, even when Professor Slughorn had asked her a direct question. Unsure of why she wasn't talking, Hermione quickly answered the question for her, vowing to ask her what was wrong when the lesson had ended.

Hermione pinned Ginny against the wall the moment that they had stepped out of the classroom. Before Hermione could even say anything, Ginny looked down and muttered "It's Harry."

"Go on, what's he done now?" Hermione asked, confused.

"He didn't come to see me after the feast last night, and he completely ignored me when he gave us our timetables. Why won't he even talk to me?" Ginny wailed, looking utterly defeated "He was so nice to me on the train, like he was glad that we were going to get to spend the entire year together, but now I'm not sure whether he even wants to do that?"

"Don't you think he's in a sticky situation at the moment?" Hermione replied, trying to stay unbiased in the situation.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it for a sec. I mean, he is now your teacher. He's going to be bombarded by warnings on the ways that he can treat you, while still trying to keep your relationship intact. He's not going to want to seem like you're getting special treatment, well not being so horrible that you want to break up with him. I don't even know what McGonagall would say if she walked on you two kissing!"

"I don't care," Ginny said stubbornly "He is meant to be my boyfriend and you would think that he would be nice to me, we've been through so much and now he if he thinks he's going to be able to treat me like shit then he's got another thing coming."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but knew she wasn't going to win. "I'm going to go and owl Ron before Defence Against The Dark Arts after break," she muttered "See you later." And with the Hermione walked off, leaving Ginny feeling worse than she had before. _"How on earth could Harry treat me like that? We're supposed to be together!"_ she thought. _"If he thinks he's going to get a word out of me next lesson than he's got another thing coming!" _Cursing herself that she was beginning to sound more and more like her mother, Ginny marched back up towards Gryffindor toward to get her things for Harry's lesson.

Ginny thought the format of Harry's Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson is actually quite good, but it nevertheless was tainted by her foul mood that she was in. She had entered the room silently and quickly, while giving Harry the well known "I'm going to Bat-Bogey hex you if you say one word to me" look that she had become famous for. Harry's first lesson was focused on teaching them a spell called "Protego Maxima." This created a temporary but powerful shield bubble that stayed active for as long as the caster was moving. He had the students cast the spell and then run down the classroom towards him, while he fired spells at them. Everyone in the class was thoroughly enjoying this lesson, bar one. Lastly, it was Ginny's turn to cast the spell, and she did so quickly. Having doing so without concentrating, her shield wasn't very powerful, and the moment that she started towards Harry, a _Petrificus Totalus_ spell hit her full on in the face. Ginny fell flat on her back to the floor, as stiff as a bored. Harry looked horrified, and Hermione said nothing as the other members of the class laughed at Ginny's expense. Harry quickly took the jinx from her and offered her hand to help her up smiling. Ginny did not smile back. Pointing her wand straight into Harry's face she cast a bright red and powerful Flipendo jinx straight at him, causing him to fly backwards into a desk. The whole class went quiet, and Harry said nothing as he got up off the floor, until he said in a low register. "Ginny, can you please stay behind with me for a minute; the rest of you can go."

The other classmates rushed to get their things, having never seen Harry so angry. He waited for every other member of the class to leave and the door to shut with a bang before he continued.

"Ginny, while I am teaching you, you have no right to cast any spells on me without my consent." Harry said, looking straight into Ginny's eyes very seriously. She tried to look straight back into his eyes, but having seen the embarrassment on his face when she had knocked him to the floor, she was ashamed of herself. Harry continued "When we are in lessons, or when I am acting as your teacher, you will address me as Sir and treat me just as you would any other Professor. Do I make myself clear?"

Ginny looked even further towards the floor, feeling like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. She knew that she had done wrong, but why was he being this harsh to her? "Yes Sir," she answered.

"Good. Now you may go." Harry finished, with a pained look in his face, while he loved Ginny, he couldn't let the others see that she could quite easily walk all over him.

Ginny stepped out of the Defence Against The Dark Arts classroom, floods of tears streaming down her face. She headed straight up to the bathroom; she couldn't face seeing Hermione at lunch.


	5. Firewhiskey

Chapter 4 – Firewhiskey

It was a couple of days later that Ginny had finally completely forgiven Harry. She had had another lesson with him the day before, but she had chosen to remain completely silent, unless Harry chose to ask her a question, in which she would answer quickly and say nothing else.

The morning after this lesson, Ginny was sat at breakfast, making up for that she had missed a few days earlier, relishing the time that she had to eat as she had a free study period first thing. As she finished her first plate of food there became the familiar sight of hundreds of owls swooping into the Great Hall. Ginny looked on with disinterest; she never received any mail this early into the term. She was very shocked therefore, when a large tawny Hogwarts owl hovered over her plate and dropped two thick parchment envelopes onto it, before flying off.

With an excited smile, Ginny opened the first of the two letters addressed to her in what was obviously Harry's untidy scrawl. Eagerly she read:

_Dear Ginny,_

_I'm sorry that I haven't been treating you very well the last few days. Even though you are my student, you are also my soul mate and I made sure with Minerva that my job wouldn't interfere with this with before I took the position. I'm sorry for being so hard on you, giving you the rough end of the stick when you really didn't need it. I didn't want to seem to the other students like I was treating you with any kind of favouritism, though you are obviously my favourite. If you'd like you can come to my office tonight after tea for some Hot Chocolate or something?_

_Remember that I Love You_

_Your Harry, x_

Ginny beamed towards Harry at the staff table, but realised with a sudden pang of sadness that he wasn't there, and went back to her letters.

Her details on the second letter were printed in heavy black ink, while the envelope itself was sealed with a green wax crest, showing a raven and the words _"__Sanguis__supra__puritas__mortem"_

. Puzzled, Ginny slit open the envelope with a clean knife. It read:

_Your boyfriend can't protect you forever. We will have our revenge._

There was no name at the bottom. Ginny gulped. Her stomach turning, she passed the note over to Hermione, whose eyes became wider as she read.

"Who sent you this?" Hermione said.

"I dunno."

"Was there anything on the envelope, a crest or anything?"

"Yeah, a raven and what I thought was some Latin underneath, erm_, "__Sanguis__supra__puritas__mortem"_

"Right," Hermione said "So that's _"purity of blood above death."_

"Great. Any idea what the raven is for? The pureblood thing isn't exactly Ravenclaw."

"No idea, but I'd bet it was something to do with the new Rookwood kid, I'll go the library."

Ginny laughed. "Your answer to everything is the library, Hermione," Ginny said, smirking "Who is this? Let's go to the library. What does this mean? Let's go to the library. How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a – "

"Alright, I get your point!" Hermione interrupted "But it's the best source of information we have so I might as well have a try. You also might want to think about talking to Harry or Professor McGonagall about it. Are you staying here to stuff yourself some more?"

Ginny nodded through a mouthful of hash brown and baked bean. Hermione chuckled and walked off, shouting "see you later" behind her as she went.

* * *

Ginny went straight to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office the moment that tea had officially ended. She hadn't eaten anything. The fact that she was going to get to see her Harry again under normal circumstances and behaviour gave her the butterflies.

Without knocking on the door, Ginny pushed the large wooden door ajar leaving her just enough space to slip through. The first thing she saw brought happy tears to her eyes. Harry was fast asleep on his desk, his head on top of a stack full of essays that he had obviously been marking. Ginny walked over, and began to stroke his messy black hair, trying to wake Harry up gently. It was no use, he was in such a deep sleep. Finally, knowing that it would work, she bent down and kissed Harry on his lips, lingering until his lips slowly began to respond to hers. Pulling away, Harry opened his eyes and smiled.

"Hi," He said, stretching his arms above his head, still beaming at Ginny "sorry I was asleep, I'm just so tired, I didn't realise how shattering teaching could be. My first year Gryffindor/Slytherin class is an absolute nightmare."

"It's ok," replied Ginny, putting her hand on his cheek "You looked damn cute anyway. So what about this drink?"

Harry had completely forgotten that he had promised her hot chocolate if she came to see him, so summoned a big bottle of Firewhiskey instead.

"Not hot chocolate, but I like this idea more," Ginny remarked, transfiguring two small glasses from pieces of parchment on the table with a quick flick of her wand. The pair drank late into the night, consuming glass after glass of the pale amber Firewhiskey.

The happy conversation inevitably therefore turned to tears about the war. Ginny was far more drunk than Harry, her small frame not able to take the alcohol as easily. When she had cheered up, however, she pinned Harry to his desk and kissed him hard.

"What was that for?" Harry asked, catching his breath.

Ginny shrugged and went back for more. The kissing continued with Ginny dominating completely. She sat straddling his lap and was snogging him senseless before she began to feel a rise in his jeans. Harry quickly threw her off, leaving Ginny to stumble to the floor.

"What, why?" Ginny whined, disappointed and kissing the hand that she had hurt in the fall..

"We aren't doing that tonight; we're both far too drunk." Harry remarked, trying to look Ginny in the eye, but the whisky was making it very difficult for him.

"But I'm not drunk." replied Ginny, stumbling into a wall at the side of her. In truth, Ginny had never been as drunk before. "And I want you."

"Well not tonight, I love you but you better go back to bed." Come on, let's go up to Gryffindor tower. "

Ginny was now in a mood with Harry, and didn't say anything to him for the entire walk to Gryffindor tower. When they got to the entrance to the girl's dormitory. Harry tried to kiss her again. She froze.

"Fine, I love you Ginny." Harry said defeatedly, hoping that it was just the alcohol that was making her in a mood with him like this.

Ginny mumbled something like "I love you too," but it was a barely audible whisper. Harry turned back towards his room in disappointment while Ginny headed up the stairs. The last real, fully constructed thought in Ginny's head before she collapsed onto her bed was "I'm get to have a hell of a hangover in the morning."

* * *

"Dolohov, has the Weasley Girl been warned?" asked a figure from the shadows that were cast over him by the heavy black curtain. His voice was high and cruel. The speaker's face was just visible "Yes, my lord. She received the owl this morning." said a sneering Dolohov, his eyes glistening with eagerness for his master.

"And the crest?" the dark figure continued.

"Exactly as you had planned, my lord."

The dark figure put his wand to his lips and thought. He was going to require bigger and more powerful forces if he was to succeed in his mission.

"Good, that should keep them on their toes. Good. Dolohov, it is time for your... transformation. Are you ready to fully join the Knights of Walpurgis?" The dark figure stood up, the light dancing on his enhanced dark mark that was now a complete sleeve up his forearm.

"Yes my lord" Dolohov answered, looking up with hope that his master may reward him.

"Then approach me Dolohov, and do not be afraid. Weakness is not a trait I admire in my servants."

"Thank you my lord"

The dark figure cast a spell to make the room grow dark. There was a burst of white light for a split second from the end of his wand, illuminating the figure's bald head and hateful scarlet eyes. Dolohov screamed.


	6. Blackness

Chapter 6

Ginny was particularly excited about the Hogsmeade visit at the first weekend of the term. She wanted to replenish her usually healthy stocks from Honeydukes Sweet Shop and maybe get to spend a bit of alone time with Harry. She wasn't the most excited one however, as Hermione was going to get to see Ron.

So at ten past nine on the Saturday morning Ginny, Harry and Hermione trudged their way down the familiar muddy path towards the castle entrance. As usual it was guarded by Argus Filch, ready with his unauthorised magical object detector just in case any pupils were trying to smuggle any Weasley joke products back inside. He shouted over the pupils' heads as they went through the gate past.

"You lot better not bring any o' them dungbombs back, or I'll have you strung up in the dungeons by your ankles!" was one example, though the remarks got more and more foul mouthed with every other student that went past.

Ron Weasley was stood just beyond the school gate, waiting for them with a big grin on his face. Hermione didn't see him for a moment, but when she did, she ran straight up to him and then pounced, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. The sheer force of her jump pushed Ron flat to the floor, and he laughed as Hermione looked unperturbed and promptly gave him a big kiss. When they had finally finished however, they picked themselves off of the ground and began to walk towards the village, Harry holding Ginny's hand, and Ron holding Hermione's.

The first thing the group went to visit was the Shrieking Shack, given that it was the closest. It brought back many memories, but also tears as they remembered Remus and Sirius. They stood at the shack for almost ten minutes in complete silence, until finally Hermione said "Come on," and they all turned round to walk back towards the village.

A bright red jet of light shot past Ron's arm, and a yellow bolt hit the fence guarding the Shrieking Shack behind them. The four of them drew their wands quickly as five Death Eaters stepped out of the shadows.

Though what they were wearing was similar, it was not their usual attire. The mask that the Death Eaters wore now extended over the tops of their heads and had now become a sort of helmet. Their robes, still black were now adorned with a green letter "W".

The four of them looked at each other uncertainly; they had never seen Death Eaters like this before. Nevertheless they didn't have time to think, the servants of Voldemort had already leapt into action.

"_Protego Maxima" _Harry shouted, encasing the group as they ran back towards the village. Ginny was panicking, she'd only fought Death Eaters once and that had been Bellatrix Lestrange, and she had nearly killed her. She fired curse after curse behind her as she ran, the road going past her in a blur. The _protego_ charm was holding well for now, but it would only hold if the four of them kept moving. Harry and Hermione ducked under the bolt of a killing curse.

Ginny didn't like this. With as sudden lust for revenge over the fact that someone would dare try and kill her Harry, she looked all the way round and cast a Bat-Bogey Hex straight at the nearest Death Eater. She had just enough time to hear Ron shout "No!" as she tripped flat on her back over a large rock.

The Protego shield broke, and the Trio turned back to help their comrade. But it was too late, as what had seemed to be the chief Death Eater flicked his wand, shooting a _petrificus totalus_ spell straight at Ginny.

Looking around wildly, Ginny watched the world become a blur as she fell flat on her back. She could hear the battle going on all around her, but could only see the grey sky above her. Suddenly rain fell in a great torrent onto the battle, the raindrops the only touch Ginny could feel alone from the rock she had tripped into that was digging into her back. She looked around as wide as her vision could carry her and just managed to make out Hermione's feet dancing on the grass, illuminated by the dozens of spells she was casting. There was a flash of electric blue light and everything went black.

Ginny began to come round, well she thought she did, all she could hear were sounds that were like she was listening from underwater. Scrunching up her face trying to hear, she opened her eyes. Nothing. Blackness, just eternal blackness that didn't change no matter where she looked or she sat up. She knew her eyes were open; she could feel herself blinking. She was blind. There was one thing she did remember how to do. She screamed.

Ginny heard footsteps coming closer, and reached out for whoever was nearby. A pair of hands finally caught hers and she realised through their roughness that they were Harry's.

"Its okay baby, I'm here. We're in the hospital wing. I'm here." said Harry, wiping away Ginny's tears, but fighting back his own.

"I...c...can't... s...see." Ginny stuttered, trying to keep herself calm. Feeling around for more of Harry she clutched onto his chest.

"I know baby, we're trying to sort you out as best as we can."

"But...I...can't...SEE!" Ginny burst out with the arrival of a fresh load of tears that made her feel worse from the sensation of crying without seeing.

"Look, I know baby," replied Harry with a soft voice, trying to keep her calm "Now you're awake, we're going to transport you to St. Mungo's and we're going to have some specialists look after you, Hermione and Madam Pomfrey will be arriving any second.

Sure enough, both Hermione and Madam Pomfrey burst into the room seconds later. Hermione went straight to Ginny's bedside.

"Oh God, Ginny I'm so so sorry. First I've had to deal with Ron and now this." She said, squeezing as much of Ginny that she could find that wasn't taken up by Harry's cuddle.

"Why what's happened to Ron?" Ginny said, almost completely losing her hysteria. When it came to her family or her friends, nothing else mattered.

"One of the Death Eaters used a curse similar to _sectumsempra _on him after he tried to save you when you tripped. He's already at St. Mungo's now but he's stable. He's going to have a really nasty scar on his chest though."

"Oh Merlin." Ginny said, relieved that Ron would be okay, but still worried nonetheless. Her thoughts however began to turn back onto her sight as she realised that they were beginning to sting.

"Harry! My eyes hurt." She said, clutching her face.

"That's not a good sign," Madame Pomfrey said, handing Harry a jacket to be put around Ginny "We have to go now!"

All three of the people on the bed stood up instantly, and Harry quickly pulled the large jacket around Ginny that she knew from the smell that it belonged to Hagrid and fell all the way down to their ankles. Luckily Madame Pomfrey had a direct Floo to 's in case of emergencies that always shone emerald green, as it only went to one destination. It was big enough for two people, and so Harry stepped in it with Ginny, squeezing her tightly as they began to spin around in the fireplace.

As they stepped out of the fireplace into the A&E department of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries the first thing that Ginny did was throw up all over the hospital's marble floor. Healers began to run over to them instantly, asking what was wrong with and if it was her stomach. Madame Pomfrey quickly answered their questions and the healers went into double time, wanting to save Ginny's eyes. The healers told Madame Pomfrey and Hermione while Harry and Ginny were 'on the way to the treatment room that if she wasn't treated soon, too much light would disintegrate Ginny's eyeballs from their very sockets.

In the treatment room Ginny was screaming, the light from the fire in the Floo being a catalyst to the damage protest. Healers guided potions to her mouth and she drank every last drop, begging for the pain to end. Harry was reminded of the potion in the cave that he had to force-feed to Dumbledore. Minutes later, the healers cast a knockout spell on Ginny which silenced her screams. The main healer. Healer Walters requested for Harry and Hermione to leave the room and reluctantly, they did.

Harry was left to fidget for several hours outside the treatment room while Ginny was healed. He was greeted soon by very panicky Molly, Arthur and George who had been to see Ron. Upon hearing that he was now awake, Hermione ran to his ward to go and see him, her high heels clicking on the floor all the way down the corridor.

It was 3 hours after Harry and Hermione had been asked to leave the room before Ginny was wheeled into a ward, still sound asleep.

Standing up, Harry and the others watched as Ginny was wheeled past on a trolley, Healer Walters walking behind it. She stopped to talk to them, clearing her voice before she spoke.

"Ginny was in a very bad condition." Walters said. He spoke slowly and clearly. "The curse that hit her should have blinded her permanently but the force of the blast was enough to knock her into the rock that left her unconscious. The fact that she had a couple of hours unconscious meant that her eyes were able to prepare themselves for healing somewhat, though we were very close to losing her eyes completely in there. She is very lucky as her sight should be completely back as soon as she wakes up."

Harry and the other's breathed a sigh of relief, Harry giving Molly a massive hug that he knew that she needed, for she had been to the toilet twelve times during the three hours they had been waiting. It was Harry and Molly who stayed to wait in the ward until Ginny would awake, with Arthur and George going to check on Ron before they would head back to the Burrow.

Molly and Harry didn't talk to each other at all while they were waiting, instead watching Ginny's face for any signs of consciousness. She was just about to drift off when she heard Ginny sigh. Molly snapped her eyes back open; her and Harry's face staring intently at Ginny.

"Hey guys" Ginny said, slowly opening her eyes and smiling as she could see her mother and soulmate sat around her bed. Harry let Molly get the first hug in; he knew very well that this tigress was very protective of her cubs. He could wait; he had the rest of his life with her. When it was his turn however, it was Ginny who got up to hug him and kissed him hard, not caring that her mother was in the room. She was just relieved that she would be able to see her Harry again.


End file.
